This invention relates to computer-controlled printers incorporating perforators, such that documents bearing printed text and/or graphics can conveniently be perforated by the same printer/perforator unit. More specifically, the invention relates to a printer/perforator unit responsive to a personal computer; the perforator is controlled responsive to software provided as a subset of or supplemental to word-processing or graphic software used to control the printing functions of the printer, for similarly controlling the perforation function responsive to operator commands.
It is of course well-known to provide printed paper forms and the like with lines or patterns of perforations, so as to facilitate the division of the printed form into various portions. However, as far as known to the present inventor, equipment for thus printing and perforating plain paper stock has normally been relatively heavy-duty, commercial-grade equipment suitable for producing thousands of copies of a single form, all essentially identical (save perhaps for separately-printed serial numbers, on ballots, tickets or the like). Such equipment is far too costly for small-scale use, as might be desired by a small business for billing purposes, or in a school situation, where a single copy or up to tens or hundreds of copies of a given perforated document might be desired. Similarly, such known equipment is not amenable to convenient control of the perforating function, as would be required by relatively untrained users for convenient custom design of forms only a small number of which are needed.
Examples of useful printed and perforated documents that cannot be economically produced using the equipment shown by the prior art include the following:
small quantities of computer-printed bills, tax forms, mortgage payment books and like communications comprising one or more payment coupons to be returned with the debtor""s check;
communications from school to home requiring return of a signed form, such as field trip permission slips;
student homework or assignment sheets to be separated and returned as work is completed;
printing of multiple tickets for raffle drawings or performances on a single sheet of paper, the perforations allowing ready separation. Tickets could be further subdivided by perforations, allowing convenient separation after use;
notices for community billboards providing a number of tear-off stubs with a telephone number for responding to the notice; or
invitations for children""s parties, e.g., perforated to define the shape of a heart, animal, flower, balloon, clown face or the like, with the invitation data printed within the outline.
Many similar uses will be apparent.
Referring now to prior art showing printing and perforating devices that would not be satisfactory for inexpensive production of small numbers of items as described above, a number of U.S. patents show mechanical devices that simply combine essentially separate and independent printing and perforating functions in a single device, wherein the spatial relationship of the printing and perforating functions with respect to the object being printed is controlled by manual adjustment, if at all. This group of U.S. patents includes Bunch, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,644, Tailleux et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,195, Shimizu et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,498, Shimizu et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,597, Bell U.S. Pat. No. 3,068,788, and Overholser U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,214.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,812 to Murphy suggests combination of a label cutter with a low-cost electrostatic (i.e., laser) or thermal transfer printer. The Murphy device includes a detector for ascertaining the location of printed labels and providing an appropriate signal to a cutter. However, the spacing at which the cutting of the labels is effected appears to be fixed by the design of the cutting member provided. This system would not allow ready design of custom forms and the like.
Meschi U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,526,744 and 5,720,223 show equipment for transversely perforating a continuous sheet of paper during printing operations; the perforator is computer-controlled responsive to position signals indicative of the position of the paper, and allows documents of different lengths to be produced by varying the spacing of successive perforations. However, Meschi does not teach integration of the control of the printing and perforating functions in a single program suitable for use by nonprofessionals in a low-usage environment; the Meschi equipment is stated to be useful in producing bank statements and other high-volume applications.
The remaining patents are of more general interest. Knoll U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,975 shows an automated cutter for sheet goods. Craemer U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,394 shows a similar device for cutting out cardboard box blanks. Schnellenberg U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,546 shows a device for cutting and creasing paper and cardboard. Garber U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,987 shows apparatus for book making.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,651 to Tateyama, U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,806 to Barnes et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,466 to Bringmann address various aspects of computer control of printers, none of which incorporate perforators.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a printer/perforator unit, that is, a printer incorporating a controllable perforator, the perforator being controlled by software preferably provided as a subset of or supplemental to software operated on a pre-existing personal computer used to control the printing functions of the printer.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide perforator-controlling software as a supplement to existing word-processing or graphics software operable by a pre-existing computer, the perforator-controlling software providing additional user interface functions to the existing software, so that a person skilled in using the existing software to produce a document can readily use the supplemented software to add supplemental commands for producing desired perforations into a set of print control commands provided to a printer/perforator unit according to the invention, whereby custom documents incorporating perforations can be economically produced in low volume by persons having only limited additional training in addition to that required to operate the existing software.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a printer responsive to print commands from one or more preexisting software programs that also incorporates a controllable perforator, in combination with software supplementing one or more of the preexisting software programs operable by existing computers.
In particular, it is an object of the invention to add perforator control options and commands to pre-existing software programs in a xe2x80x9cuser-friendlyxe2x80x9d manner easily understood by users familiar with the pre-existing software programs, such that entries on user menus, mouse-selectable icons, function keys, and the like, as conventionally provided to control various print functions, are provided corresponding to the perforator control functions of interest.
Other objects of the invention will appear as the discussion below proceeds.
According to the present invention, a novel printer/perforator unit is provided, both printing and perforating functions being controllable in response to a single user program. The single user program can be a pre-existing word-processing program modified by addition of software provided together with the printer/perforator unit, a unique word processing program integrally including the perforator control functionality, or another type of program for interacting with a printer, such as a graphics program, also including perforator control functions according to the invention.
Typically the printer/perforator unit according to the invention will be provided together with media storing software drivers for adapting each of a number of preexisting word-processing, graphics and other printer-controlling software programs to operate the perforator; in this way, the same printer/perforator unit can be supplied to users having a wide variety of exisiting programs controlling various printers in various ways, while identical media, that is, bearing copies of the same collection of software drivers, can be provided to each user, simplifying distribution and documentation of the software.
The perforator itself according to the invention is provided as a relatively straightforward addition to any of a number of known types of printer mechanisms. In one embodiment, the perforator may be configured as a row of individually actuable perforating devices, operated, for example, by individual solenoids. Typically a platen having a row of corresponding bores formed therein will be disposed opposite the line of perforating devices, to support the paper as it is punched, ensuring formation of clean perforations.
The row of perforating devices is typically arranged along a line transverse to the direction of motion of paper through the printer, that is, parallel to the direction in which lines of type are normally printed. Accordingly, if it is desired to form a line of perforations extending across the document parallel to the normal lines of printing, all of the perforating devices are actuated simultaneously; if it is desired to form a line of perforations perpendicular to the normal lines of printing, the same perforating device can be actuated repeatedly as the paper is passed below the row of perforating devices by the printer""s paper transport mechanism. Various other configurations of perforations can be formed by actuation of various combinations of the perforating devices as the paper travels thereby. These and other options are all controlled responsive to the operator""s desires, as communicated to the software program through a xe2x80x9cfriendlyxe2x80x9d user interface.
Depending on the specific interface between the computer and printer/perforator unit according to the invention, the user""s commands may be translated directly into specific perforator commands, that is, to pulses actuating the individual solenoids or other perforator actuating devices, by the software program also according to the invention. However, more preferably the specific perforator commands will be generated by a microprocessor comprised by the printer/perforator unit and responsive to more general commands provided by the program responsive to the user""s commands. The latter embodiment, wherein some of the xe2x80x9cintelligencexe2x80x9d required to operate the perforator is provided in the printer/perforator unit, is preferred because in this way fewer signals need to be passed between the computer and the printer/perforator unit, allowing use of existing computers; in the former embodiment, conventional computer-to-printer connections might not be adequate, meaning that conventional computers would not be adaptable to operate the printer/perforator unit according to the invention.